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History of Artania
Outline * pre-history: Tribes and stuff * 100 BCE - 99 CE: Land Wars of Hobrazia - conflict between Deltarian & Hobrazian tribes * 1st century CE: Religious and political turmoil in Majatra caused by the fall of the Qedarite Empire and the rise of Hosianism and its accompanying religious disputes determine many Selucian-speakers to flee to Darnussia * c. 100 - c. 300 CE: Selucians in Darnussia get unified and establish a coastal mini-empire, covering Darnussia & Beluzia * c. 300 - 334 CE: Deltarian Empire of Three in Luthori * 334 CE: Empire of Three destroyed and conquered by Seluco-Dunic Empire; beginning of Deltarian Migrations * 533: Council of Auroria condemns Ordism & Eudemism. The Seluco-Dunic Empire officially adopts Ordism after Ordius flees to Artania * 6th-9th centuries: Northward expansion of S-D Empire * 845: Caius Alorius conquers Aloria * 802 - 1278: First Confederation Era: the Seluco-Dunic Empire becomes a sort of decentralized union of various kingdoms, with the core being the Dundorf-centred Frankish Empire * 1279: King of Dundorf is granted Imperial Title by Arch-Patriarch, centralizes Empire under Grand Council, converts Empire to Aurorian Hosianism * 16th century: Martyn Luthor does his thing; religious-cultural war with Southern nobles; independence of HLE * 1523: Tassel does his thing * 16th - 17th centuries: Radical Abjuration spreads North; massacres of Tasselists; expulsion of Duntrekkers; decline and near collapse of Reich * 1735 - 1813: Second Confederation Era - Emperor loses nearly all his power to local Tasselist nobles, but Empire carries on * 19th century: Nationalism becomes a thing; call for unification into Dundorfian nation * 1831: (Re)establishment of a centralized Dundorfian Empire in 1831, with a Tasselist State Church * 1922 - 1924: First Dundorfian Civil War * 1924 - 1948: Dundorfian Reich and its collapse * 1948 - present: history Artanian Pre-History Index Artaniae is the largest compendium of knowledge relating to Ancient Artania, what is known from the book that was written sometime in the 4th century CE which explained the existence of early Artanian tribes. Much of the Index Artaniae covers the Land Wars of Hobrazia which created the first Hobrazian Kingdom and would be a major factor in leading to the Great Journey, where the Deltarian tribes would venture from their homeland in Artania and eventually end up in Majatra. The Land Wars of Hobrazia were fought between the Zargunian Empire, sometimes known as the Kingdom of Zargunia (Historians today dispute its claim to being an Empire) and the Hobratz tribes, located roughly around the area of modern Hobrazia. The conflict which lasted from 100 BCE and 99 CE was primarily focused around border skirmishes with roughly about 20 years of the actual conflict being large scale engagements. The defeat of the Zargunians at Krupskaya effectively grew the normally disorganized Hobratz tribes into a coherent military fighting force. Hobrazian Fire as it is known to modern history was an effective fighting weapon of the Hobrazians and its exact composition is unknown to this day, rampant speculation and controversy has fueled attempts to re-create it but however they have failed. The Battle of Krupskaya is considered the turning point of the Land Wars of Hobrazia and is considered in Hobrazia as the start of their foundation, despite the foundation of the Kingdom of Hobrazia not coming until several years later. Modern Hobrazia celebrates the Battle of Krupskaya by celebrating The Zargunian Empire and the Hobratz tribes believed that neither side would be victorious so they decided to create one, unified Hobrazian & Zargunian kingdom. King Zargaanous of Zargonia and Princess Eris would marry, creating the Zarganid Dynasty. On July 30th, 99 CE the Kingdom of Hobrazia was born, it would remain a piece of the Artanian landscape until 815 CE. It was during this time that the religious turmoil created by the collapse of the Qedarite Empire and subsequent rise of Hosianism forced Selucian-speakers from Majatra. During the 1st century CE the Selucians settled in the modern lands of Darnussia and Beluzia, these settlements would eventually become a coastal empire. Meren Imperium and the Empire of Three From the period of the 1st century CE Selucians had been migrating to the modern areas of Darnussia and Beluzia. These exile Selucian settlements were highly unorganized and it was not until the late 1st century CE that veteran Selucian Legionary Faustus Coiedius Mereius came fleeing the fall of the Qedarite Empire and landed with hundreds of followers at what would be known as Colonia Meriana, which would eventually become known as Merenburg on Narikaton. Mereius would bring with him the martial skill and political acumen that he had earned as a legionary in the Selucian legions. Mereius' conquests were first limited to the island of Narikaton. Mereius eventually expanded his followers after news of his conquests reach other parts of the modern Darnussia and Beluzia, followers began flocking to Mereius' banner and informed him of locations on the mainland. Mereius immediately took to building Portus Ossonoba which would become Ostermark and began his planned invasion of the Darnussian mainland, he dispatched Decius Coiedius Opimius to conquer the larger island of Shirmania, now known as Clenon. Mereius, emboldened by the success his subordinates on Shirmania took to building a massive force to take the mainlands in Beluzia and Darnussia. Mereius launched his conquest of the two lands but did not survive long enough to see his success. Mereius' successors would finish his conquests by 207 CE and formed the basis for many more Selucians still fleeing the collapse of the Qedarite Empire to come to Artania. The government that sprung up around Mereius is known today as the Meren Imperium, little information exists regarding the titles or regalia that Mereius used but it is known that he used many Selucian customs as a basis for his Empire. It is believed to have been organized around a dictator who was chosen by the people but the power of the dictator was limited to his reign and could not disband his electors. Mereius' successors continued to expand their territory and by late 200 CE they had successfully conquered modern Darnussia and Beluzia and began to explore the areas of western Hobrazia and Southwestern Luthori. Around 300 CE the the predecessor Deltarian tribes began to form the Empire of Three located in modern Luthori, a point of contention for the Meren Imperium which had been the dominant power in Artania. The Meren Imperium maintained minor relations with the Kingdom of Hobrazia, the two were uneasy trade partners but neither of them were able to launch campaigns against each other due to the Meren Mountains (beginning in Walkaunar and ending somewhere near Chontalonia) which effectively split Meren lands, the Kingdom of Hobrazia and the Empire of Three. The ambitious Cassius Trebatius Domitianus, a descendant of Faustus Coideius Mereius, set out on a campaign in 301 CE to go around the mountains and launched the first known campaign into modern Rutania where Domitianus first met the Dunic tribes which had settled a vast majority of Northern Artania. The Empire of Three maintains a majority of land of modern Luthori as well as portions of Ikradon, outside of that area were Dunic tribes that existed outside the empire to the north, Delic tribes that had pushed east and began to settle in modern Kundrati and Endralon and finally the Dradic tribes who occupied much of modern Aloria as well as parts of northern Rutania. The Empire of Three was a unified entity underneath the legendary figure Samo. The Empire was a loose confederation of states with central authority focused around the modern Luthori capital of Fort William. Samo served as Dominator of the Empire of Three, a title that would see use later in history, Samo today serves as a mythic-esque figure in Deltarian history. Domitianus' campaign into Rutania was met with fierce resistance of Dunic fighters, who were skilled warriors and horsemen. Domitianus' forces were conventionally adopted from Selucian style legionaries, the fighting style gradually changed as Domitianus' forces came into contact with Dunic fighters who wore heavy armor and wore smaller shields and heavier swords. Domitianus' units were heavily armored and armed but paled in comparison to the horse-based warfare that the Dunic people practiced. Domitianus was further pressed when he met Dradic fighters near northern Rutania who fought naked and were fanatical in their efforts. Domitianus' had never seen such fighting before and was shocked at the savagery that the men fought with, Domitianus returned home several times during his conquest and the Dradic and Dunic people were first exposed to be the Saevii or "Savages". Cassius Trebatius Domitianus would pass in 311 CE after 10 years of fighting. The Meren Imperium had made limited success but had founded several colonies that would foster a dissemination of culture. Septimus Trebatius Domitianus, the son of Cassius' took over his fathers armies and offered his hand to the Dunic and Dradic people who began to experience raiders from warlords in the Empire of Three. Samo had ambitions conquer land from sea to sea, he began a campaign around his empire and rallied a massive warhost that launched attacks against tribes living in modern Ikradon and Dundorf before reaching the edge of Kirlawa and Kundrati. Septimus had made peace with the Dradic tribes and actively began absorbing Dunic fighters into his armies, the influx of new fighters caused a cultural shock to the Meren Imperium, Septimus adopted several aspects of the Dradic and Dunic culture. Septimus was able to make peace with the Dradic and Dunic tribes by offering them citizenship in the Meren Imperium. Meren citizenship was considered an ends to a means for the Dunic and Dradic people, they saw it as a way to gain strength for themselves and integrated themselves with Meren-Selucian society despite the push back of older Meren citizens primarily located in the original lands of the Meren Imperium. Dunic and Dradic nobles adopted Meren customs temporarily. At the Conclave of Castra Bonifatius, Dunic and Dradic nobles agreed that a peace was necessary between their various tribes and the goal was to overtake the Meren Imperium after it had defeated the Empire of Three, which most Dunic and Dradic tribes located outside of the Empire of Three were cast out by Samo or defeated in battle that they had to flee because they opposed him. By 319 CE the Meren Imperium had swelled will Dunic and Dradic tribes who began to integrate themselves with the Selucian-based society, many of them adopted the same customs and traditions and at times, short of physical appearance were indistinguishable from their Selucian counter-parts. Samo and his empire were forced from their lands in western Dundorf but Samo's men held the line and fortifications began to be built in the winter of 330 CE which would halt any future advance of the Meren Imperium. Dunic warlord Theodoric Dunicius, Dradic warlord Gawain Davies and son of Cassius, Aulus Trebatius Domitianus devised a plan to strike at Soma's capital Szigelca the plan was halted after Soma counter-attacked over his fortifications and pushed the Meren troops back to the edge of modern Rutania and trickery on the part of Soma had seen Dradic tribes underneath rival warlords take back vast swathes of territory in the north. The siege on Szigelca was halted until spring 334 when Dunicius, Davies and Domitianus launched their surprise assault over the Meren Mountains and by winter 334 had taken Szigelca forcing Samo and a majority of the ancient Deltarians to flee Artania. What would become known as the Deltarian Migrations happened as Soma's Empire of Three collapsed and a new Seluco-Dunic Empire took its place. The Dradic had more or less fled from the Meren Imperium as it caused dissent among the ranks of the Imperium's military and rebellions and usurpers attempted to claim parts of the Imperium for themselves. By 334 CE the Dradic tribes were either eradicated or were confined to Aloria proper. Seluco-Dunic Empire The collapse of the Empire of Three left a power vacuum in Artania, the Meren Imperium had changed over the course of a hundred years and Dunic peoples were prevalent in all levels of society. As a sign of trust and friendship Meren Dictator Aulus Trebatius Domitianus and Dunic Warlord Theodoric Dunicius signed a concordat that accepted the friendship of each other. Modern historians claim that this concordant renamed the Meren Imperium to the Seluco-Dunic Empire as a sign of faith between the Selucian exiles and Dunic tribes but inconclusive evidence has lead to much speculation. What is known is that the Meren Imperium more or less ceased to exist and it was indeed replaced by a Seluco-Dunic Empire, the Empire gradually took on a more Dunic culture as well as started to adopt customs from the remaining Akiganian tribes that remained as the Deltarians fled further and further south. The vast majority of the new Seluco-Dunic Empire were commoners who were either of Dunic or Akiganian descent, Selucian remained the primary tongue of the empire while both Dunic and Akigan remained in common use. The Selucians of the Empire became more and more confined to Darnussia while Dunic settlers began their first migrations in modern Beluzia, this was the first migration of Dunic or Akigan peoples en masse to former Meren lands. The Seluco-Dunic Empire continued their system of government with an elected dictator that yielded near unlimited power, it is however in a document from the late 4th century that we see the first appearance of the title of Rex, a translation that roughly equates to King. It appears that despite the prominence of Selucian culture, Dunic and Akigan virtues began to dominate the empire in the late 4th century. Triguno-Dundorfian War (1914 - 1920) The build up of tensions between the Trigunian Empire and the Dundorfian Reich began in the late 19th century when trade disputes between the two countries arose. Early Kerisians had migrated into northern Artania but would eventually be forced out by the Dundorfian tribes and the Dundorfian Reich itself. Many of these Kerisians were forced from their lands and lost much of their wealth in the attacks they suffered, many of them fostered intense hatred for the Dundorfian people and brought this hate with them back to the dominating Trigunian Empire which controlled the entire Kerisian continent at the time. Eventually these conflicts boiled over and the two nations increasingly became at odds with each other. A Trigunian merchant vessel was struck by Dundorfian submarine (Dundorfian: Unterseeboat, uboat) and shortly after the Trigunian Tsar declared war on the Dundorfian Reich and open hostilities began. Socialist victory, January 1922 When the Reichstag elections of 1922 came around, the conservatives were in a weary position. Several areas of the world had suffered an economic downturn and trade with Southern Artania had fallen off, the colonies in Majatra began to push for independence and more and more resources were being expended to ensure economic dominance of the Dundorfian Reich. The Social Revolutionary Party (Dundorfian: Sozialrevolutionäre Partei) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Dundorfian: Institutionelle Revolutionäre Partei) emerged after the concepts of Socialism and Metzism began to appear. Socialist and communist movements began but tapered out as they were suppressed by the Dundorfian government throughout the reich. The SRP, lead by Tiberius Bauer and the IRP, lead by Elsko Eilers campaigned together for a victory over the Traditional Conservative Party, the Liberal Conservative Party and the Movement of the Hosian Community. These parties opposed the socialist, despite the existence of only three parties there were far more outside political organizations that opposed the socialist and campaigned against them such as the Home Corps (Dundorfian: Heimkorps) a social organization of former Reichsheer officers who favored radical measures against the socialist, many former members of the Home Corps would be influential political proponents of a new ideology, National Socialism. The socialist victory in January 1922 would have far ranging consequences on the Dundorfian Reich, the history of Artania and the entire world. The socialist won enough seats in the Reichstag to begin enacting legislation with relative ease. The legislation at first was seen as compromising but as the socialist tasted victory more and more with their legislation they pushed further. The Dundorfischer Gewerkschaftsbund (Luthoran: Dundorfian Trade Union Confederation) began to unionize employees and the first Dundorfian trade union movement really took effect, strikes and walk-outs became common and the government did little to intervene. Prior to the socialist victory the Dundorfian Police or the Reichsheer would intervene and force the workers to work, this time the socialist used this as a means to strengthen their position. Tiberius Bauer would become a self-proclaimed champion of the people and used his position of influence to bring the major trade unions together to form the Dundorfian Trade Union Confederation. The powerful and growing Dundorfian Trade Union Confederation would eventually take hold throughout the entirety of Dundorf, employers were forced to either take action personally and pay private security to break the strikes or give into the demands of the workers. It was not before long that a majority of Dundorfian businesses were taken over by the unions, the number of union members swelled and the conservatives were rendered useless as they failed to introduce legislation to prevent unions and union take over of businesses. Conservatives and traditional royalist were appalled and active campaigned against the socialist, throughout the reich lines were already being drawn. Rutania and Dorvik were preparing themselves for greater conflict, Dorvik and Rutania became bastions of conservative ideals. Aloria and Kirlawa were quick to adopt socialist ideals in their own areas but held onto their conservative undertones. Conservative Dundorfian business owners allied themselves into a group known as the Conservative Star (Dundorfian: Konservativer Stern) which actively campaigned for conservatives to take back the government from the socialist and to work together to break unions. The Conservative Star aligned themselves with the growing group known as the Home Corps. The Conservative Star would go on to fund the Home Corps throughout the early stages of the civil war and constitute a massive piece of the Dundorfian economy following the collapse of the Dundorfian Reich. The week prior to the outbreak of the First Dundorfian Civil War were incredibly intense, the conservatives were preparing measures to walk out of the Reichstag and trigger an election while the socialist were actively seeking to remove conservative Chancellor Wilhelm von Asnacht, who was a member of the Traditional Conservative party and a staunch anti-socialist. First Dundorfian Civil War The First Dundorfian Civil War, also known as the Great Patriotic War (by conservatives and royalist) began on June 6th, 1922. The civil war had it roots within the victory of the Socialist in the January, 1922 elections for the Reichstag. The civil war began on June 6th when members of the Home Corps and the militant members of the Republican Defense League (Dundorfian: Republikanerischer Schutzbund) opposed a protest by members of a conservative political movement. The Home Corps went to provide security for the protest and seeking a physical fight, as was common in the months before the civil war for both sides, began a brawl which would spark a movement across the entire Dundorfian Reich that would bring it to its knees and see it eventually collapse. The Dundorfian Police were brought in to break up the protest and the conservatives saw this as a means to arrest the socialist. Minister of the Interior Ludwig Otto von Hohenstauffen announced that the Dundorfian Police would be supported by the Reichsheer and would break the protest "promoted by the leftist to disturb public order". The Kasier, Georg Wilhelm VI refused to take action against his own people. Historians suspect that the young Kaiser saw the writing on the wall during the outbreak of the civil war and did all he could to prevent the House of Hohenstauffen from falling victim to the civil war. It was during this period that the Kasier and his family began to move their wealth throughout the conservative-aligned areas of the Dundorfian Reich such as Dorvik and Rutania. Kaiser Georg Wilhelm VI left the management of the crisis to Chancellor Wilhelm von Asnacht, Minister of the Interior Ludwig Otto von Hohenstauffen (the Kaiser's brother) and Chief of Staff and Minister of War Regismund Augustus von Faust-Essen (the brother of the reigning Dorvish King). The three formed a triumvirate which would guide the Dundorfian Reich to collapse, historians often dispute that their actions had little to do with what Dundorfian historians call "...the course of history" while others speculate that the light handed response at first garnered the socialist legitimacy. As the civil war spread throughout the Dundorfian Reich, the Imperial government was increasingly rendered useless. Services and local governments were either overthrown by socialist and organized into councils or were placed underneath direct control of the appointed Oberprasidents of the Ministry of the Interior. The Dundorfian Police began cracking down on the socialist far more than the conservatives, though there are several records of skirmishes between the Dundorfian Police and the Home Corps. Minister of the Interior Ludwig Otto von Hohenstauffen saw this chance to suppress members of the SRP and the IRP, he would go on to arrest several dozen members on the night of June 17th, 1922 including much of their senior leadership. Tiberius Bauer narrowly escaped capture when he fled to Kirlawa where the socialist were gaining ground due to an influx of international volunteers arriving from Keris. The Reichsheer remained immobilized due to Kasier Georg Wilhelm VI not wishing to see the state move against the people. Chief of Staff and Minister of War Regismund Augustus von Faust-Essen pushed the young Kasier to use the military or risk the total collapse of the Dundorfian Reich. By November, 1922 the Kaiser announced his abdication and proclaimed that the Dundorfian Reich would exist but no longer as a monarchy. This drove Regismund Augustus von Faust-Essen to mobilize the Reichsheer which had been a step short of revolting due to inaction, the last second influx of troops was not enough to counter the socialist as they swept throughout Kirlawa, Dundorf and the southern portion of Rutania. The conflict was more political than military, that was to come after the first civil war, the conflict saw many places within Kirlawa, Aloria and Dundorf proper organize along the lines of socialism, they formed councils and the ruling coalition of the SRP and IRP formed the first Dundorfian Democratic Republic. Ludwig Otto von Hohenstauffen ruled as Imperial Regent (Dundorfian: Reichsverwesers) for three months until February, 1923 when socialist forces had overrun the Dundorfian Reich's capital of Dunburg. Shortly after the capture of Dunburg the socialist proclaimed the official foundation of the Dundorfian Democratic Republic and signaled the death knell of the Dundorfian Reich underneath the rule of the Hohenstauffen family. The Dundorfian Democratic Republic would soon be locked in a bitter conflict with the Dundorfian Reich underneath the leadership of several successive leaders before the conflict eventually ended in the late 1940s due to lack of resources and war exhaustion. The Dundorfian Democratic Republic, located primarily in Dundorf proper, Kirlawa and the south-east portion of Aloria would go on to strip all nobles of their titles, confiscate their wealth and land, deny them basic human rights and banned them from political offices. In 1923 the conservatives and royalist began to form militias and secret societies to oppose the socialist. "Collapse of the Dundorfian Reich" The "Collapse of the Dundorfian Reich" is the name of the series of conflicts and events from 1924 to 1948 between the Dundorfian Democratic Republic and the Dundorfian Reich.